Want more money and less stress in your salon? Then try this now.
It’s what I do in my own business and it’s my #1 priority when I first start working with a hair or beauty salon.
What is it?
Marketing ‘systems’.
Yep, I know systems and processes may not sound like sparkling salon marketing activities. But believe me, they are crucial.
Feeling frazzled?
If you’re like many salon owners, the responsibility for marketing and growing your business falls solely on YOU. Along with the dozens of other must-do admin jobs.
Which can mean your marketing keeps going to the bottom of your ‘To-do list.’ Not a good place for your most important growth activity.
This is where marketing systems and procedures score because they carry on regardless, even if you’re time-stressed and drowning in overwhelm.
Whether you’re on holiday, too busy with clients or just plain exhausted – robust marketing systems will keep you sane and in profit.
Sound good? Yep. Then let’s do this:
Marketing systems are the key to sanity and profit
Setting up marketing systems means you will:
#1. Reduce your stress
Stop reinventing the wheel every time. Instead focus on putting marketing systems in place to take the burden off your shoulders.
Your salon will run more smoothly and you will feel less frazzled and time-poor.
#2. Take back control of your life
Your salon needs to be able to function fully without you. It’s far too easy to become indispensable.
If you are, then your salon will never reach its full potential and you’ll find it difficult to take time out for your holidays, training and other essential business activities. Putting systems in place is a big part of the answer.
#3. Stop the guesswork
Systems save unnecessary, costly mistakes.
As you recruit more people to your salon team you need marketing systems and procedures in place so they can quickly understand what is expected of them and how to do it.
#4. Be consistent
Marketing consistency is key to building a trusted salon brand. Systems ensure everyone knows what to do, how to do it and does it consistently to the high standards you have set.
#5. Boost profitability
With the right systems, you can identify bottlenecks, minimise costs and maximise your marketing efficiency. Which all drive profit.
Remember, a system will:
Save
Your
Self
Time
Energy
Money
How to create marketing systems for your salon
You almost certainly have systems in other parts of your business for example, booking holidays, stock checks and team induction. You’re looking to do just the same thing with your salon marketing.
You just take 4 easy steps:
- Identify
- Create
- Implement
- Review
STEP 1: Identify
Wondering where to start? How about your:
- Social media content creation
- Cancellation system
- First visit and the follow-up
- Gathering social proof (reviews)
- Salon social posting
- Lapsed clients
- Client consultation procedure
Get your team involved and brainstorm what you need to put in place for a system to work – perhaps a social media content calendar, an automated email sequence or something as simple as just blocking time off on your calendar each week to batch up your social scheduling.
STEP 2: Create the marketing process
Now document the individual steps, no matter how small, in an easy-to-follow checklist. Make sure you cover every step, no matter how small.
STEP 3: Implement your new salon system
Once everything is in place (and not before) launch your new marketing system. You’re hopefully going to be delegating some or all of it so decide if training is needed, empower the team and set standards.
I always suggest you, as the salon owner, pilot the system for a short while. This way you soon discover any gaps and it means you understand the system inside out. This makes it harder for anyone to pull the wool over your eyes as this receptionist did to a client of mine 👇
I’d set up a lapsed client system for Vicky who owns a hair salon. After a few months, Vicky complained that it wasn’t making any difference – no lapsed clients were returning.
The receptionist responsible for implementing the system was adamant she was doing it, so I asked her for the list of names for that month. It turned out she didn’t know how to get the lapsed client list off the till software.
Rather than admit this to Vicky she misled her about sending them out. Not one single client had been followed up. Because Vicky had never operated the system herself, understandably, it just hadn’t occurred to her that this might be a problem.
STEP 4: Assess and fine tune
Monitor each marketing system and tweak if needed. Is a step unnecessary? Have things moved on? Does the process need updating?
Systemise to Maximise
Let’s set up a dead-simple, uber-effective system for handling potential new client calls. It’s a crucial touchpoint and making it seamless will boost your first visit booking hit rate.
#1. Map out a checklist of the exact steps your team should follow on the phone. What questions should they ask? What details must they grab? Get it all down.
#2. Include reminders in your system. For example, adding personal touches like using the caller’s name during the chat can really make your client feel like a VIP.
#3. Prompt them to always reconfirm the appointment details before hanging up. It reduces the chance of no-shows and mix-ups.
#4. Print that checklist and slap it somewhere everyone can see it at the reception desk. Make it impossible to miss.
#5. Pull the team together for a speedy training session on this new checklist. Make it a hot topic in their next one-to-one meeting too.
More money. Less overwhelm.
The right marketing systems can get you hours of precious time back each week. Freeing yourself up means you can stop feeling drained and pulled in all directions. And start having time for the things that are most important to you – family life, business goals or some much needed ‘me-time’.
Now you know how key systems are to super-successful marketing, imagine how much precious time and money you could gain every day with a set of professional ready-to-go systems and tools.
My salon marketing club gives you a daily system so you instantly take back control of your time, marketing and business. Power through your marketing with a day-by-day planner brimming with graphics, social caption templates, a ready-to-roll client blog, e-news templates and buckets of practical advice from me. Spend less time dreaming up post ideas and more time on the things you love. And so much more.
What are you waiting for? Systemise to maximise – with your complete monthly salon marketing toolkit. Fast track your marketing to awesome here 🚀